Joseph “Jo-Jo” Giorgianni arrives at Federal Court in Trenton in a wheelchair for his arraignment, Wednesday Dec. 19, 2012, as a reporter holds out a microphone. Trenton City Hall is seen at left. (Trentonian photo/Jackie Schear)

Joseph “JoJo” Giorgianni, defendant in a federal corruption case with Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and a separate drug trafficking case, is a free man. Well, he’s more free than he was on Monday.

As part of his pretrial release, the 63-year-old Giorgianni has largely been confined to his house in Ewing. He was also restricted from contacting other defendants in the case or visiting JoJo’s Steakhouse, his restaurant on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Tuesday, Federal District Judge Douglas Arpert modified that agreement at the defendant’s request to allow Giorgianni to leave his house for up to three hours a day, still with some limitations.

“This is not a license for joyriding around town. It is just for the reasons discussed,” he said.

Giorgianni will have to notify Pretrial Services ahead of time with his itinerary and provide proof with receipts when he wants to leave, according to the judge’s ruling. Arpert made the change over the prosecution’s objections at the request of Giorgianni’s attorney, Jerome Ballarotto.

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Ballarotto said Giorgianni, who is confined to a wheelchair, couldn’t provide food for himself because of his arthritis and other medical issues and according to a psychiatrist’s report, was growing increasingly depressed.

Ballarotto said a previous bail modification, allowing fellow defendant Mary Manfredo to come cook for him, was not working and they needed to allow him some time out of the house to get food, maintain his car and attend to other personal business.

“He certainly can’t get into any mischief in that amount of time,” he said, referring to the requested three-hour time window.

Arpert also arranged for Hilda Sanchez, a state Department of Health employee, to act as a third party custodian for Giorgianni. She will make regular visits with him to make sure he’s complying with the terms of his bail.

The prosecution objected to the request, saying Giorgianni was too dangerous to the community to be allowed out of his home. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Moran cited weapons charges and the drug distribution charges against Giorgianni when saying the court should keep the defendant confined to his home.

“We feel that this is the appropriate level of supervision, given the danger aspect,” Moran said of the unmodified house arrest.

Federal officials last month indicted Giorgianni, Mack and the Trenton mayor’s brother, Ralphiel Mack, on charges they conspired to extort $119,000 from an FBI cooperating witness who presented himself as a developer who wanted to build a parking garage in downtown Trenton.

Both Macks were released from custody on $150,000 unsecured bail. Giorgianni was released on a $250,000 bond secured by property and is on electronically monitored house arrest.

In September 2010, Giorgianni started having recorded meetings with a federal cooperating witness during which Giorgianni allegedly agreed to serve as a middleman for cash payments to Mayor Mack in exchange for the mayor’s support of a parking garage, according to court documents. Sources said the cooperating witness was Lemuel Blackburn Jr., a disbarred Trenton-area attorney.

Giorgianni’s indictment said he allegedly intended to foster a corrupt system of government in Trenton.

Giorgianni was also accused of allegedly distributing oxycodone and illegal possession of four firearms that were found during an FBI raid of his home and Steakhouse in July, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition.